Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality has a brochure stating that the best ways are (a) to dispose of them in a Household Hazardous Waste collection program if one is available or (b) put them in your regular trash collection for disposal in a landfill. The brochure has suggestions for packaging them so that reuse is made much more difficult, if not impossible.

The brochure notes that prescription drugs can interfere with the activity of the bacteria used to break down substances in wastewater treatment plants.

Some cities have sponsored programs, in conjuction with pharmacies, where unused drugs can be dropped off for safe disposal.